Drivers approach the all-electronic toll plaza for the first day, March 27.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Drivers approach the all-electronic toll plaza for the first day,...

Image 2 of 11

Vehicles pass through the toll plaza at the Golden Gate Bridge, where the new electronic toll system was overwhelmed by mailed invoices and mistakenly sent out about 400 undeserved late fees to drivers.

Vehicles pass through the toll plaza at the Golden Gate Bridge,...

Image 3 of 11

The new toll system, the first of its kind in the state to do away with human toll-takers in exchange for license plate readers, debuted March 27.

The new toll system, the first of its kind in the state to do away...

Image 4 of 11

Most trips -- 85 percent -- are paid by FasTrak. But anyone who doesn't have FasTrak gets mailed an invoice if they cross the bridge and haven't paid online in advance.

Most trips -- 85 percent -- are paid by FasTrak. But anyone who...

Image 5 of 11

Drivers can pay invoices by mail, by phone or online. When drivers chose to pay by mail, the toll center workers could not process the mail fast enough. The drivers then received a late fee even though they had paid.

Many drivers also complained they never got the first invoice. Currie said some drivers may assume the invoice is junk mail, since the envelope doesn't say Golden Gate Bridge. (Toll center staffers began stamping the envelopes after the problem surfaced, and will eventually redesign them.)

Many drivers also complained they never got the first invoice....

Image 8 of 11

Commuters roll through the toll plaza without stopping on the first day of electronic toll collecting at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, March 27, 2013.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Commuters roll through the toll plaza without stopping on the first...

Image 9 of 11

Electronic equipment is in place to record license plates and Fastrak transponders on the first day of automatic toll collecting at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, March 27, 2013.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Electronic equipment is in place to record license plates and...

Image 10 of 11

Commuters breeze through the toll plaza during the morning rush hour on the first day of electronic toll collecting at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, March 27, 2013.

Having switched to all- electronic toll collections, the Golden Gate Bridge district may be looking at a windfall gain of millions of dollars in fines from motorists who don't pay up in time.

Under the system installed last March, drivers who don't have a FasTrak transponder can either pay tolls in person or get a bill in the mail. Once billed, they have about a month to pay up before they're hit with a $25 penalty.

If they don't pay within another month, the fine grows to $70.

Figures provided for the first four months of operation show the district issued 290,489 violation notices - representing 4.3 percent of bridge crossings.

And while the agency missed out on $1.7 million in toll revenue, it more than made up for the loss - collecting $2.95 million in fines from just 119,851 of those motorists, records show.

Another 28,044 fines were dismissed, primarily because they were sent out in error while the payments already were in the mail or being processed.

That leaves 142,594 people facing fines that could grow to $70 apiece. That money could be collected when they try to re-register their cars. By our calculations, those outstanding fines add up to nearly $10 million.

Bridge district General Manager Dennis Mulligan estimates that over the course of a full year, anywhere from 380,000 to 570,000 drivers could face fines. Even if two-thirds of those pay up within a month, that would produce $15 million to $22 million in extra money for the district.

Some evaders will never pay - but if they don't, they may not be able to renew their car registration. And the bridge district intends to farm out their tickets to a collection agency.

Small world: Real estate tongues are wagging over the seemingly cozy relationship between a UCSF Foundation board member and one of the three finalists bidding for the rights to build housing on the university's 10-acre Laurel Heights campus.

A dozen offers were submitted last year, and recently UCSF pared down the list to three. The contenders haven't been publicly disclosed, but we're told one of the firms is the Prado Group, whose president and founder is Dan Safier.

His wife, Jackie Safier, sits on the board of the UCSF Foundation and until recently was a member of its real estate committee, which advises the university on all development deals.

UCSF spokeswoman Barbara French tells us that Jackie Safier last attended a real estate committee meeting in October 2012 - two months before the bids were issued - and resigned her committee post in May to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

French says UCSF takes its conflict-of-interest policy seriously, "and I think (Jackie) has been very diligent about it, as have we."

The Safiers could not be reached for comment.

By the way, Jackie Safier happens to be president of Prometheus Real Estate Group - the company that tried to buy the Lake Merced Golf Course in Daly City last year for an eye-popping $321 million in hopes of developing the site.

It promptly withdrew the offer when some club members threatened to go to war to stop it.

And finally: What do French President Francois Hollandeand Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsomhave in common? And no, we aren't talking about a history of messy romances.

They are among the handful of people to whom Mayor Ed Leehas given keys to the city during his three years in office - the others including, most notably, the Giants (World Series champs), pitcher Matt Cain(for his 2012 perfect game) and 5-year-old Miles Scott(a.k.a. Batkid).

But Hollande and Newsom have the distinction of being the only two given keys on the same day - Hollande for his head-of-state visit to San Francisco, and Newsom on the 10th anniversary of his recognizing same-sex marriages in the city.

P.S.: City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who hasn't always gotten the recognition he felt he deserved for championing the same-sex marriage cause, was absent from Thursday's 10th anniversary gathering at City Hall.